Dead Reckoning
by Curiosity Collected
Summary: The dead have risen to devour the living, and the park crew must prepare for the oncoming fight for their lives. They will also learn that there is much more to fear in the apocolypse than the dead. On top of it all, Mordecai must go to impossible lengths so keep everyone he cares about safe. May change to M rating. Mordecai x Margaret, OC x OC


(Mordecai)

As I stare into the sunset, I knew that it was going to be hard. Just dropping her off was hard enough...having to watch her leave was harder. It feels so...unfair. I finally have her, and then she leaves. I feel like I've been cheated out of being happy, like I was teased with a piece of meat that I couldn't grab. Then again, I can't think like this. I know this is best for her...and I have to live with it.

"Yo, you just take Margaret to the airport?" It's Rigby. I've kind of been expecting him.

"Yeah..." My voice is deep and hoarse. I really with Rigby woudn't have asked me that.

"You wanna talk about it?" I know he's trying to be a good friend, but he really needs to shut up right now.

"No." Even though he is making it worse, I'm still glad he's here. I know he does care.

He takes a seat next to me on the roof, staring out in the same direction at the sun. A moment passes, and hear him messing with some kind of metal, then a rip of plastic. He puts the soda in my line of view, and I just stare it for a moment. I take from him and crack it open. I take a long swig, letting its cola flavor calm me down a bit. I hear Rigby crack one open and do the same.

We just sat there for what felt like hours. I wish it was longer...

* * *

**4 Years Later**

"Yo, Jase!" I call him over, his head sweating profusely. He jogs over to me with a spade in his hands while I check my phone for the time. 5:24, six minutes. Just enough time.

"Yeah, Mordecai?" He sounds pretty tired, and his sleeveless hoodie is covered in sweat from the front and back. It's a good thing he uses deoderant.

"It's quitin' time. Me and Rigby are going to the coffee shop for a meatball sub. You down?" I knew by saying 'meatball sub' he would come, he loves them almost as much as Rigby.

"Of course! But I got to finish this hole for the new orange tree Muscle Man brought in this morning." Always hard working, this guy. I've known him for almost my whole life, I should know better by now.

"C'mon, man. You've been working all day! You skipped lunch and you're working over time. You should have been done with work two hours ago!" I knew Benson gave him extra work to do, as according to plan.

"Well, Benson really needed these trees in the ground, and I can't-"

"It'll be fine! You can finish when we get back. I promise." He looks at me for a moment, unsure of what to say. Finally I just knock the shovel out of his hands and wrap my arm around his neck, like in the old days. "Don't make me get you into a headlock, I still can!" He chuckles as I fake choke him.

"I may be younger, but remember who took seven years of Tai-Kwon-Do. I can still flip you on your ass!" I let go of him, knowing he probably would.

"Let's just go, dude." He gives me a defeated sigh and starts walking towards the kart. Well, looks like my job is done. I hop in the kart with him and start driving us to the shop.

Jase has always been my favorite cousin. He was like my best friend before I met Rigby. We were really close until high school, when his family moved from here in Slammers, California to Florida. I still talked to him over the phone every once in a while, but never really saw him or hung out with him since then. He came back to Cali just three years ago, saying he was hoping to find a career in something better than what they had in Florida. He needed a starting job, I talked to Benson, Benson interviewed him, liked what he saw and signed him up. Rigby and everyone else warmed up to him pretty fast, and it seemed like a nice fit. In fact, we're not going to the coffee shop for subs; there's a party waiting for him there.

"Man, I'm starved." He held his stomach while leaning back in the passenger seat. "I hope Eileen can make me a double."

"I still can't believe you skipped lunch. No one can do that much work without food, dude."

"I guess so, I just really wanted the overtime. The extra cash is gonna help me get that new computer and all the programs on it that I need."

"How much is that again?"

"About $2000."

"Damn, dude! I can't believe you saved all that money."

"Probably because you spend yours on coffee and video games."

"Got a point there." It was silent for a little bit until I thought of something that would keep the conversation going. "So, how's it going with _Alice?_" He closes his eyes annoyingly and lifts his head back.

"Ugh, dude let's not talk about this." He sounded almost depressed about it.

"Why not? We both know you have a massive crush on her."

"UUUGGGHHH...dude, I'm just waiting for the right moment-"

"Bullshit! You've had plenty of chances. You just need to make a move."

"Look bro, this isn't just some girl that I want to be with for like half a year and then dump her. Alice is something WAY out of the ordinary." I take a glance over and see him gazing off at the streets. It's like I'm looking at a reflection of myself from a few years ago.

"If she's that special, then quit wasting time." He sits up and shoots me a confused look.

"Huh?"

"Stop wasting time. You need to make a move NOW. Don't hesitate, don't wuss out, don't hold back. You need to let her know how much you care and let her make the decision. Because if she is interested and you hold off for another day, that's more time wasted not being with her." I must have sounded pretty serious, because the look he gave me was rather admiring.

"It sounds like you know what you're talking about."

You have no idea, man.

* * *

(Gibbs)

"Don't...move...a muscle..." The doctor's whisper didn't exactly make sense. Maybe he was talking to himself. His patient's been dead for over three days. "Easy now..." He takes his syringe and injects the yellow liquid into the vain of the body. Making sure every last drop was injected, he pulled out the needle and walked out of the containment room. I stare through the glass at the body, waiting for any reaction. Dr. Carlyle joins me as he takes off his plastic gloves.

I was sent hear by the CIA to observe Dr. Carlyle's progress. According to the pentagon, Carlyle has been experimenting in biogenetic transmutancy. Some shit about bring back the deceased.

"You sure this will work, Doc?" I shoot him a look of doubt. He just responds calmly and care-free.

"No idea, Agent Gibbs. Not a single clue. But that's science!"

"I never asked, how long have you been working on this?"

"Sixteen years."

"And you've failed how many times?"

"Ninty-two."

I turn my attention back to the patient. His skin is turning a murky grey, and his fingernails are already turning yellow.

"Uh, Doc?" I point at the patient and the doctor looks at it with glee.

"Oh my! The effects are starting! I must take notes!" He takes his note pad from his shirt pocket and begins jotting down the causes of his syrum. Then something happened that sent shivers up my spine. The body's right hand twitched. I was feeling nervous, Carlyle was feeling giddy. "It-It worked! My syrum worked! I must check on the other containment cells and see if the my mix worked for the other doctors!" Before I could even stop him, he ran out of the lab.

I stared at the patient, curious and nervous. It's beginning to move its legs...what the... His entire body lifted off the bed and he was on his feet. He hobbled around, staring at the floor until he saw me through the window. That's when he lost it. He screamed and sprinted full speed into the window, leaving a massive crack in it. He kept smashing into the glass, making the crack bigger and bigger. I gripped my Glock 20 strapped to my chest, feeling to anxious to use it. Suddenly, the body came hurdling through the glass. I quickly yanked out my gun and shot the guy three times in the chest, but he kept moving.

"DON"T MOVE!" I yell at him. He just started crawling towards my leg. "I'M WARNING YOU!" He came to my leg and extended his jaw, ready to bite me. And I fired. The bullet at that close destroyed his head, leaving it in chunks. I felt shocked and overwhelmed at what just happened. That's when I remembered...that syrum was sent to every cell in the lab...over two hundred corpses...I have to find Carlyle.

I yank the door open and sprint through the hall. As I look through the windows of the other labs, I see doctors being devoured by undead corpses. I want to save them, but Carlyle was priority. I keep running only to find Carlyle hobbling through the door of the lab at the end.

"Doc! You're syrum! It-"

"I know..." I saw his leg and it was bleeding. "They're rather bitey..." I run over and grab his arm, helping him limp out of the lab. I kicked the door open, only to see hundreds of people evacuation the facility. I found my car and quickly took Carlyle over and tossed him in the passenger seat. He looked unconscious.

I started my car and slammed on the gas, getting us out of there. As I look back, I see the corpses taking down people that didn't make it in time. They screamed in pain as they were torn apart. I turn back to the road and try to catch my breath.

"Doc, I don't know what the hell that syrum was...but it ain't no cure for anything."


End file.
